On Thursday, there were 9 tornadoes that touched down here in Tampa Bay. It was one of those days that wreaked havoc in this area. As I was driving to work, the rain was intermittent and on one road, there was actually a break in the clouds off in the distance so I was hopeful we were in the clear. It was not to be. Just as I was about 2 miles from work I made my last turn and, literally, was face to face with an enormous black wall of the angriest clouds I’ve seen in recent memory. The lightning was so rapid that counting the strikes would have been futile and I had a little pang of fear as I wondered if 2 miles was close enough for me to get indoors.
As it turned out, I barely got out of my car and in the church prior to this wind sheer coming through and the electricity going out in the sanctuary I was cutting through. The sanctuary is enormous and I found myself in the middle of a pitch black room with howling winds and torrential downpouring. It wasn’t my finest moment. Add to that the text I happened to get right as this is all going on from my boss….”Hey, you may want to stay home and work from there today. Weather is pretty bad.” Not the best timing. 🙂
This storm did some pretty substantial damage. Tornadoes are crazy~ popping in, popping out, indiscreet in where they touch down, unpredictable and leaving behind the most bizarre things. This is a picture of a home where the roof was ripped off and yet the chairs and curtains look pretty untouched….how does that even happen?
It’s kind of like the storms in life.   Things are going relatively well, your  head is above water, and then~ out of  nowhere ~ disaster strikes.
In the midst of our “life” disasters, it seems at first glance that we’ve lost everything. It seems as though the devastation is more than we can bear, doesn’t it?
When we have had time to recover, though, we are able to reflect and see that some things were left in tact despite the disaster. The human spirit then kicks in and we pick up what’s left and begin to rebuild. That’s how life works.
The day after the storms, the day was brilliant. Perfect; not a cloud in the sky. That’s how life works.